Wednesday, May 04, 2011

A Balancing Act -- Academics and Athletics

May 4, 2011 - A Balancing Act

We're now reaching the time of the year when the track athletes have to shine in their multi-tasking skills. This past weekend was a prime example. Many on the team competed at the Payton Jordan Invitational on Sunday amidst a flurry of final papers, impending review sessions and presentations. While most of us on the team are used to juggling academics and athletics on a weekly basis, our ability to do so always gets tested at the end of the year. Unfortunately Pac-10's always lies in the middle of finals. Everyone wants to peak come championship season, but this becomes doubly difficult when you also have to peak in your academics at the same time. Each year, many of my teammates have to take finals on the road hours before their events or plead with professors to allow an alternate examination time.
So while most students are solely focused on getting through finals, we are preparing both mentally and physically for the most important competitions of our season and for some of us, of our career. And while the track athletes at many other schools have pressure to perform well at conference, they do not they have to balance finals at the same time, nor do they face the challenges of academic rigor that Cal offers. But that's what we are as Cal student-athletes; we are champion multi-taskers. As Athletic Director Sandy Barber often says, we come to Cal because we want it all - the pinnacle of world-class athletics and academics. And although it is certainly a challenge to succeed in both the classroom and out on the track and field, I am always impressed by the calm and collected demeanor in which my teammates manage to pull off both.

So, to my fellow teammates, good luck studying. To my fellow Bears, know that we will be prepared come championship season.

Go Bears!
- Alison Greggor (San Marin High School, Novato; California 2011)

Courtesy California

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